Chalabi 'does not want role in Iraq government'

Ahmed Chalabi, one of Iraq's best-known opposition leaders with strong support in the Pentagon, said in an interview published yesterday that he did not plan to play a political role in his homeland.

"I want to take part in the reconstruction of the civilian society," the Iraqi National Congress leader told French daily Le Monde by phone from southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.

Mr Chalabi said he had been "extremely well-received" in Iraq, where he returned after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government.

But asked if he intended to play a political role there, he said: "Absolutely not. I am not a candidate for any post."

According to a CIA report last month, Mr Chalabi, as an Iraqi exile, would find little support among the Iraqi population. ");document.write("

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US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said last week Iraqi exiles would have an important role to play in a postwar Iraqi government, but some may only stay temporarily.

Mr Chalabi, who has close ties with Washington, said his vision for Iraq was a democracy with power in the hands of Iraqis.

"I don't believe the United Nations would be able to play a central role in Iraq. It has become a de facto ally of Saddam Hussein," he said, citing the refusal of UN Security Council members France and Germany to support the US-led war in Iraq.

Mr Chalabi has said he will send a representative to a meeting between US officials and Iraqi factions in Nasiriyah today.